4 - Phage technology in high throughput screening for pathogen detection in food

Abstract

The increase in prevalence of foodborne disease has created a need for rapid detection methods, which can be used to prevent the spread of pathogens in the early stages of production. Several rapid detection methods have been developed in recent years. These methods can take advantage of the versatility and specificity of bacteriophages to enhance their detection properties. This chapter will briefly describe the basic biological properties of bacteriophages, which these new detection methods utilize, along with a brief description of traditional phage-based detection methods. We will also describe several types of new rapid detection methods that use phage or phage proteins and give examples where the methods and their adaptability to high throughput screening strategies have been used.